When asked about how often No. 12 North Carolina men’s soccer works on set pieces, graduate forward Martin Vician and junior midfielder Sam Williams glanced at each other.
Then, they laughed.
“I mean we pretty much do set pieces every day for the whole training,” Williams said.
Vician said during practice, head coach Carlos Somoano will only move on from set piece reps when he's satisfied with the team's execution. If he sees his players are not concentrated enough for his liking, they will run it again until it's right.
That meticulous practice is paying dividends. Five of UNC’s six goals in its 6-0 thumping of East Tennessee State on Monday came from set piece routines — two goals from corners, two from free kicks and one from a penalty kick. Seven of 10 UNC goals this season have come from dead ball plays.
In lieu of high-intensity training, which is made difficult by a crunched schedule, set pieces are a good way to gain a leg up on UNC's competition without "overloading the legs."
But what spurred North Carolina’s set piece onslaught on Monday was not necessarily different routines. During training, Somoano said the Tar Heels don’t fully script their exact movements to replicate during a game, instead, they place an emphasis on finding open space and defensive vulnerabilities. Eventually, through trial and error, North Carolina's shots find the back of the net.
"It's also about the creativity of the players," Vician said. "For me, it's about seeing the space either behind or in front of me and trying to [execute] the best decision, and then I have great players around me who who can find me in those spots."
Perhaps no goal demonstrated this better than UNC’s fourth of the night. Williams and senior midfielder Juan Caffaro both lined up for a free kick at the corner of the box, facing a one-man wall. Caffaro told Williams he was going to run up and touch the ball back to him — a disguise Williams said the duo practices often.
